Forwarders could lose trillions to new digital platforms

24 Feb 2017 - by Adele Mackenzie

Logistics companies –

notably forwarders– could

potentially lose up to

US$1.5 trillion of business

value by 2025 as the supply

chain evolves and new

digital platforms emerge.

So said consulting firm

PwC’s transport and

logistics leader, Andrew

Shaw, highlighting the

World Economic Forum

(WEF) figure at a press

briefing on future trends

in the logistics industry in

Johannesburg recently.

He pointed out that the

transportation and logistics

industry was “significantly”

behind other industries in

leveraging digitalisation to

improve operations.

“Key customer industries

of the logistics landscape –

including pharmaceutical,

automotive, e-commerce

– are changing at a much

more rapid pace, putting

traditional supply chain

operators under significant

pressure to innovate, or lose

out,” Shaw commented.

Examples of this – as

highlighted by Stefan Stroh,

PwC managing director

for the Europe, Middle

East and African region –

include the “Uberisation

of goods transport” where

global players such as

Flexport and Shipster offer

strong software platforms

or applications that provide

for direct integration

between shipper and

consignee.

Furthermore, the

line between business

to business (b2b and

business to customer

(b2c) is becoming blurred

as business customers

increasingly have the same

quick delivery demands as

their end customers.

“Carriers are therefore

offering services directly

– facilitated by digital

platforms – thus entering

the private customer and

b2c market segment,” said

Stroh.

PwC predicts that

forwarding companies

and other traditional

logistics players could

therefore collaborate to

provide holistic value chain

solutions.

“They could build shared

digital platforms or even

share facilities such as

warehouses to ensure they

remain competitive,” said

Shaw.

INSERT AND CAPTION

Forwarding

companies and

other traditional

logistics players

could collaborate to

provide holistic value

chain solutions.

– Andrew Shaw